


Reconciliation

by Lassarina



Category: Final Fantasy VI
Genre: Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-12-30
Updated: 2002-12-29
Packaged: 2017-10-03 10:51:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lassarina/pseuds/Lassarina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a nasty fight, Locke and Celes must come to terms with their feelings regarding Rachel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Oh, My Hero

"I don't understand why you can't allow me this one thing!" Frustrated, Locke Cole raked a hand back through his hair.

"Oh, so it's unreasonable for me to ask you to pay a little more attention to me occasionally!" Celes Chere glared back at him. The expression on her face gave him a good idea as to how a slender, fragile-looking woman had maintained command in the Imperial Army.

"So what's the problem, Celes? Feeling neglected?" he retorted.

"Frankly I'm starting to wonder how valid your promise of fidelity was!"

He froze. "What did you say?" Odd that he could make his voice so calm.

"It's not me you're living with, it's _her!_ Just like you were saving _her_ in South Figaro, not me! All you want is _Rachel!"_

He simply stared. Her blue eyes widened slowly as she realized what she'd said. All color drained out of her face until it was whiter than the cloak she wore.

Exerting all his self-control, he turned and walked to the door. Quietly he opened it and quietly he stepped outside.

He slammed the door behind him with a force that shook the frame of their small house.

Not really caring where he was going, he strode through the thriving little town of Kohlingen, ignoring the greetings that came from all sides. All he cared about was getting away, somewhere he could lick his wounds in peace.

He was somewhat surprised to find himself in a cool, damp, dark area. Frowning, he looked around. He was in a cave? But he didn't remember heading for the mountains...

The realization hit him like a fist to the gut. Oh, God. He must be in the small sea cave west of Kohlingen. The Verridian Cave, where he'd sworn never to set foot again.

The cave where Rachel had been hurt and lost her memory trying to save him.

A shock of pain spread through his body, and he realized he'd fallen to his knees on the stone floor of the cave. He wanted to leave, to walk out and leave the memories and grief and fear here by themselves. God knew he had enough of those to deal with in the present, never mind his past.

But the memories didn't seem to want to leave him alone. Flashes of all the times they'd gone treasure hunting together scrolled through his mind.

She had always laughed and called him her hero. He had protected her from the denizens of the caves they'd searched, and she had followed him with wide-eyed delight as they searched for treasures long since lost to their civilization. He remembered how she had looked, lying in his bed amidst priceless gems and jewelry, laughing as she pulled his head down for a kiss.

And she was dead, and it was all his fault.

He shouldn't have allowed her to come here with him. He'd known the cave was too dangerous for her, but he had let her convince him that she would be fine.

She'd nearly died saving him.

_"Locke...."_

His head snapped up and he looked quickly around. That had sounded like her...but she was dead. It couldn't be.

Something glimmered ahead of him.

_"My hero...."_

Curious, he dragged himself to his feet and made his slow way forward. The glimmer floated ahead of him, always just beyond his reach. Doggedly he followed it deeper and deeper into the cave, now anxious to find out what it was.

Locke carefully eased around a jagged rock outcropping that would have left nasty gashes across his arm if he had bumped into it. He saw the uneven, cracked cave floor and looked around for an area that would better support his weight. Then he forgot all about such trivialties when he saw a ray of scintillating blue light.

That couldn't be it.

But the shimmering something floated just above it...

He started forward.


	2. So Far Away Now

The crash of the slamming door resounded through the house. Celes dropped to her knees on the floor, arms wrapped around her stomach to try to contain the nausea that welled up.

She couldn't possibly have said that.

But Locke's departure was proof that she had.

What on earth had made her say such a thing?

Such a stupid thing to fight over, too. She had teased that he cared more for the gems he unearthed in his travels than he did for her, and he had taken her seriously. It had all escalated from there....

_It's just a fight,_ the rational part of her brain pointed out. _You've had fights before, and you've both survived._

She ignored the rational part of her brain. They'd had fights before, sure, but she'd never accused him of still being in love with his ex-lover and all manner of other things.

She didn't know how long she stayed huddled on the floor, shivering despite the pleasant temperature of the house. Finally a loud pounding noise caught her attention.

Slowly she got to her feet and went to the front door, praying it wouldn't be anyone she'd have to be polite and pleasant to. Reluctantly she turned the knob and pulled the door open.

"Hey Celes! How's it..." Setzer's voice trailed off as his piercing gray eyes skimmed over her. "What happened?"

"Locke and I....had a fight," she answered, forcing the words out past the lump in her throat. She would not cry. Imperial Generals do not cry.

She stepped back as he walked in and closed the door behind him. The long gray coat he habitually wore sailed past her to land on one of the hooks in the front hall. "You had a fight," he mused aloud. "What about? I thought you two hashed out all those who-wears-the-pants issues months ago."

Even pride didn't stop the tears from welling up in her eyes again. "I s-said that he c-cared more about the t-treasures he goes after than m-me," she whispered. She couldn't seem to talk properly.

Setzer's expression was one of abject disbelief. "You said _what?"_

"And I said he was m-more in love w-with Rachel than me." The look on his face was almost more than she could stand. She folded into a heap on the floor, biting her lip hard to keep back the sobs.

"Celes, can I ask what led to this argument?" His tone was that of a man trying to make sense out of utter illogic.

She shook her head miserably and took a deep breath. "I asked him why he never went to the cave offshore of here, and he said because she died there, and then I was going to hug him because I can't stand it when he's sad, and he pushed me away and started talking about some ruby he wants to go find and I just..."

Setzer sighed and settled onto the floor next to her. "So you asked an innocent question, he reacted badly, you tried to comfort him, he didn't want you to, and then you started fighting like alley cats."

Put that way, it sounded so absurdly juvenile that she winced. "I don't know where he went and I don't want him to be angry with me," she whispered.

Setzer blinked. "Celes, are you twenty or twelve?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

He sighed again. "Never mind. Look, I'm sure he just needs some time to cool off, okay? Come on, go wash that pretty face of yours and I'll teach you to play seven-card stud. It'll distract you. I promise."

Blindly she rose and obeyed him, not knowing what else to do until Locke returned.


	3. Will I Ever See Your Smile?

Locke barely remembered to look at the ground and was relieved to see that a path of solid stone led to the source of the shimmering light. Quickly he went across the cavern to look.

The light was shining from the top of a stone pillar that was only a few inches lower than Locke's shoulder. A thin ray of sunlight poured down from the roof of the cave and struck a sapphire of stunning color and clarity. The blue of the stone was so intense it almost hurt Locke's eyes to look at it. Light shimmered off its many facets and gleamed amidst the shadows cast by its unusual shape.

Slowly Locke reached out and laid his hand over the glittering sapphire. It resembled a rose. The many petals were even delicately veined, as the petals of a real rose were. Locke felt awe for the natural forces that had shaped the gem, for legend had it that the sapphire had emerged from the earth as he now beheld it.

He picked it up and looked at it. In addition to the flower itself, there was a stem, complete with leaves, of emerald as beautifully detailed as the rose had been. They had been fused together by the powerful, creative forces long since lost to the world.

Looking at the rose brought tears to his eyes. _Rachel,_ he thought. It was this gem, the legendary Sapphire Rose, that he and Rachel had been searching for, that terrible day when she had been injured...

__

"Locke! What are we off to find today?" As ever, Rachel was eager to go treasure hunting with him.

_"You'll see!" Locke laughed and started across the rickety wooden bridge that would take them deeper into the cave. It creaked and groaned beneath his weight._

_"Locke! Watch out!" Rachel left her safe footing on solid stone and raced across the bridge, pushing him to safety. The bridge gave way beneath her. She tumbled down into the black depths of the cave._

_"RACHEL!" Horrified, Locke leapt down after her._

She was unconscious when he found her, lying at the bottom of the deep chasm. He took her back to Kohlingen and stayed by her side until she regained consciousness.

But Rachel's recovery was not all that he had hoped for. She had lost all memory of him. Her father kicked him out of their house, claiming it was Locke's fault that Rachel had lost her memory. _And it was,_ Locke thought, a terrible sadness welling up inside him. _If I hadn't insisted on taking her with me...if I hadn't encouraged her to come treasure hunting...It's my fault...it's all my fault..._

He could almost see her, standing in front of him--the long black hair, the keen emerald eyes that always sparkled with the simple joy of being alive. With a start, he realized that he was looking at Rachel--or at least, at her ghost. A chill rippled down his spine.

_"Locke..."_ The ghost's face was inexpressibly sad. She floated nearer and looked at him. _"Locke, you must move on. You must forget me."_

"How could I, Rachel? How could I ever forget you?" Locke fought back tears. God, not this. Anything but this. It was easier to endure Celes's cruel taunts than to stare at the ghost of the woman he had been devoted to for most of his adult life.

_"Locke, I am in your past. Why do you always look back?"_ Rachel floated still closer to him. He stared at her, unable to answer.

_"There's no future in looking back. You must look forward now, Locke."_

"But there's nothing to look forward to! Celes is..."

_"Celes is waiting for you. She loves you."_

"She said..."

_"She was angry. Do you mean to tell me you've never been angry and said things you regret?"_ Oh, how familiar that gently chiding voice was. _ "Go to her, Locke. Live your life." _ Her expression became one of compassion. _"I am dead. You have spent so much of your life trying to bring me back. For six years you searched for the Phoenix. Let it go now. Go back to Celes. Move on."_ Rachel's ghost seemed to shiver as it faded into nothingness. He reached out, his hands closing around nothing.

"Rachel!"

_"There is no future in the past."_

_"Rachel!_ Don't leave me again!" He clutched at the air as she vanished completely.

Still, he heard her last words echoing around him. _Look forward, my beloved. Please. Grant me this one last wish..._

He looked down at the Sapphire Rose. It seemed to burn with a clear blue flame unlike anything he'd ever seen. The color made him think of Celes's eyes...and then it was her face he saw, clearer even than Rachel's...long blond hair streaming over her shoulders, the two thin braids on the left side of her face...eyes as blue as the sapphire in his hand, often cold as ice, but when she looked at him, they were warmer, glittering with blue fire...her features proud, sometimes cold, but other times softer, like when she smiled...the brilliant smile that lit up her entire face . . .

Locke tried to recall Rachel's face, to see her one last time, but suddenly he couldn't even remember the color of her hair, or her eyes...He reached out his other hand, trying to reach her, and found only her words..._You must forget me...I am in your past...Look forward...Celes is waiting for you..._

He didn't realize he was crying until the tears fell onto his hands, soft drops of water. He stared at them, astonished. Not even when Rachel died had he wept. Slowly he closed his hand around the Sapphire Rose. Now it was Celes who filled his heart and soul and mind...her face, her laughter--which he heard so rarely--her smile, the warrior spirit that had made her such a good general...and the love that shone in her blue eyes whenever she looked at him. He knew then, with sudden clarity, that he had come to the Verridian Cave to make peace with himself, even if he hadn't consciously chosen to. Yes, he wanted to give Celes the Sapphire Rose, but...was it really right, to give Celes a gem that he had intended to give to Rachel?

He wanted to marry Celes, had been waiting for the right time to ask. He had had so many opportunities, and hadn't taken them because he knew that some part of him still belonged to Rachel, and it hadn't felt right. Could he go to her with a clear conscience now?

Locke looked down at the pillar from which he had taken the Sapphire Rose. Words were inscribed on it, faint but still legible. He bent closer, struggling to make out the faint letters. "He who comes here with chaos in his heart, shall leave with peace and love, but it will be a long and lonely road back to that which he loves," he read aloud. Another cold shiver slid down his spine. They were just words. Only words. Slowly he turned away from the pillar and opened his belt pouch to put the Sapphire Rose away. He reached into it expecting to find the engagement gift he had bought for Celes: a sapphire bracelet set in white gold. When he didn't find it, he looked down, and seeing no bracelet, he dropped the Sapphire Rose into the pouch and began to look for the bracelet in earnest, even as he began to make his way out of the cave.

A loud grumbling echoed around him, and he looked up. All the rocks that had once formed the ceiling of the cave tumbled down toward him. Something bright green exploded around him just before everything went black.


	4. Love Goes Away

Celes paced uneasily up and down the narrow hallway. It had been three days since their fight, and she hadn't heard word one from Locke. She rearranged a vase of flowers on the table, then moved it back again. Setzer had gone to find out if any of their other comrades had seen Locke, promising to be back shortly.

_Are you an Imperial General, or some silly love-starved twit?_ the acid voice in the back of her mind demanded. _You used to have a backbone. What happened to it? Gone soft in all this time away from the army?_

"Shut _up!"_ She brought her fists down onto the table and winced at the loud sound it made, as well as the bruises she'd just acquired. Rubbing her hands, she resumed pacing.

A quick, sharp knock at the door had her sprinting to the other end of the hall. She whipped open the door to find Setzer, Terra, and Cyan standing in the doorway.

"Celes, we need to talk," Setzer began, and led the way into the kitchen. The four of them settled around the small table.

"Well?" Celes prompted, when none of them seemed inclined to speak. A slow, sick dread began to churn in her stomach.

Terra reached out and dropped something into her hand. "You...should have this," she said in a choked voice.

Bright blue gems glittered against white gold. Her name and the words "I love you" were engraved on the clasp. She closed her hand tightly around the bracelet and blinked hard.

The sympathy in Terra's green eyes made her want to claw the other woman's face until blood ran, and at the same time, she wished she could break down in tears. No. No, it couldn't be that. No. But they all looked so solemn....

She had thought the Imperial training camps and her imprisonment had taught her all she could ever know about pain.

Not even close.

"Locke bought this for you. We....found it outside the Verridian Cave," Terra stammered.

"It used to be a cave," Setzer amended. "Now it's a pile of rock."

_Accursed place._ "I want to go look for him."

The way they traded looks made her hand itch for her Runic blade. "Celes, there is no way he could have survived," Cyan rumbled. "I understand thy pain...but nothing could still be alive in that pile of rubble."

"I see." She stared at the handful of metal and gems coiled in her palm.

"I think you need to lie down." Terra put a hand on her shoulder.

She jerked away. "I'm going to go look for him." Her chair crashed to the floor when she sprang to her feet.

Terra, Cyan, and Setzer exchanged looks again. "We're going with you," Cyan declared.

"Do whatever the hell you want, I don't care. But _I'm going."_ She reached for the white wool cloak hanging in the front hall. She had discovered a long time ago that she could use physical exertion to push mental pain away....at least until she exhausted herself enough to sleep as soon as she lay down.

"Celes. You'll want a canteen." She looked up from strapping on the scabbard that held her Runic blade to see Terra offering her a leather canteen. She accepted it with a curt nod and finished fastening her sword at her side.

"Let's go," Terra said simply.

They headed to the small port west of Kohlingen and climbed into a small skiff that Setzer rented from the dockmaster. Terra sighed and tipped her face up to the swift sea breeze. "Celes, you should drink some water," she said mildly. "That was a long walk."

Obediently Celes unscrewed the lid of her canteen and sipped the water. It tasted a little bitter, but her mouth and throat welcomed the moisture. She drank more.

She was having trouble focusing on Terra's face, which insisted on fading into a cream-and-green blur. She felt cool wood under her cheek and wondered why she was lying down.

"Terra, how much did you give her?" Setzer demanded.

"Enough to knock her out for hours. Turn the boat around." A cool hand brushed her forehead. "I'm sorry, Celes. But we can't let you do this to yourself."

She heard a deep sigh. "I shall have Sir Gau accompany me to the island to retrieve his body." Voices faded in and out. "She should....that much."

"I agree. But what if...."

Darkness.

~*~

"I think she's coming out of it."

"I can't believe you gave her that much."

"Well, what did you want me to do? It's not like I could cast Sleep on her, you know."

A sigh. "Well, there's not much we can do about it now. Celes, are you awake?"

She cracked her eyes open and winced at the flare of brilliance that assaulted her. Her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with week-old socks. Slowly the brilliance resolved into two faces: one a lovely oval framed by waves of green hair, and one thin and angular with silver bangs falling into the grey eyes.

"Drink this." Terra held a glass to her lips. "Plain water this time, I promise."

She drank greedily until the glass was empty. "What did you _do_ to me?"

Terra had the grace to look ashamed. "Sleeping powder in your canteen."

"Why?"

"Because letting you exhaust yourself looking for something that isn't there wasn't a good idea," Setzer said harshly. Celes cringed, but a second look at his eyes told her that he was using coldness as a defense. God knew she'd done that often enough herself.

"Setzer!" Terra glared. "What he meant to say was, you'll have enough to deal with as it is." She hesitated. "Cyan....went to the Verridian cave." The slender Esper girl bit her lip hard. "He....found Locke's body....but it's...." Bright tears glittered in green eyes.

"The funeral is today." Setzer's voice slipped through several octaves of pitch as he spoke. "It's....a closed casket."

They had to be lying to her. Locke couldn't be dead. And if it was that bad, how did they know for sure it was him?

But why would they lie?

"Celes.....we'll understand if you don't want to go." Terra wiped away tears.

She considered it, but she had never been one to run from her battles. "Do you have something black I can borrow?" she whispered.

~*~

Celes stood silently in the graveyard in Kohlingen. She didn't notice the cold northern wind that whipped her cloak out behind her. She wasn't really aware of her friends, though she knew that they were gathered all around her. She was looking at the casket that held Locke's body, but she wasn't really seeing it. She wanted to scream, to cry, to do SOMETHING. _But that's not what an Imperial soldier does,_ she thought. As the funeral chants rose around her, her mind drifted back in time.

__

The guard struck her again. Her head was spinning. She couldn't think with the pain that filled her awareness. She tried to evade the blows, but she was chained to the wall and couldn't move.

_So simple a thing, really . . . She had learned of Kefka's plans against Doma, and had tried to send carrier pigeons to warn them of the danger. She had also known of the plan to lure General Leo from the front, clearing the way for Kefka's insanity._

_But one of Gestahl's imperial spies had discovered her, and Gestahl had sentenced her to death. "There will be no traitors in my empire, and none in my army. She'll die tomorrow morning. Till then, lock her up." He had tipped her head up so that she had to look at him. "I think I'll let Kefka direct your execution, my dear," he had said in a voice that oozed satisfaction. "I'm sure he'll enjoy it." She knew what that meant--not the quick mercy of the guillotine or the headsman's sword, no indeed. If Kefka was in charge, it would be a very slow, very public execution, probably beginning with some form of torture and ending either by burning at the stake, or being drawn and quartered. But there was no help for it now. She was locked away in South Figaro beneath the millionaire's house, waiting for her death._

_"This's what happens to traitors!" Another blow, harder this time. "So, the mighty Celes has fallen!" She heard the guard's sneering words as though they came from a great distance._

_"How can you serve those cowards . . . " She knew, from the way the words hurt her throat, that she had spoken her thought aloud._

_"Hold your tongue!" the guard snapped._

_"Isn't it true that Kefka's going to poison the people of Doma, to the east?" she persisted, though she knew it was foolish to irritate her guards. After all, they only had to deliver her alive tomorrow. She could be unconscious for all they cared, but she must be alive._

_Another blow. This one was so hard that it snapped her head back. She felt her head strike the stone wall at her back, but again, the awareness was of something a great distance from herself. "I'd hate to be in your shoes tomorrow!" the guard chortled, kicking her in the ribs for good measure. The other one grabbed her throat, cutting off her air supply. It didn't matter. She'd rather die that way than Kefka's way._

_He released her. Pity, that._

_She could hear the two guards talking among themselves, then the door closed. She was only vaguely aware that she was no longer standing upright. The chains on her wrists were holding her up, threatening to rip her arms from their sockets. That wasn't right. If she stood up, it would help. She tried to stand but her legs refused to obey her._

_She fell to the floor again, her cheek resting against the wall--wonderfully cool stone. A shadow fell across her, but she felt it more than saw it. Her eyes were swollen shut from the guards' interpretation of "Deliver her alive tomorrow." She forced her eyes open and saw someone bending over her. Concerned gray eyes, blond hair. A man . . . yes, it was a man bending over her. He touched her bruised cheek gently, then turned his attention to her chains. He went to work on the locks and in a short time, the chains fell away from her wrists. She slid into a heap on the floor. Gently he helped her to her feet._

_She could barely stand. She leaned against the wall, needing the support that the solid stone gave her. It was an effort to focus on his words._

_"I'm with the Returners. Name's Locke."_

_That surprised her enough that she spoke without thinking, despite the way the words tore her raw throat. "Returners!! I used to be General Celes . . . Now I'm just a common traitor . . . " It wasn't self-pity that made her say that. She didn't want him to think she was one of his group._

_"Let's go!" He gestured toward the door, past the guard, who was by now snoring loudly._

_"You'd take me along?" she said in astonishment. She could barely think past the pain that was trying to take over her awareness. Realizing that he was looking at her with surprise, she tried to explain. "Thanks, but no thanks. I can barely walk . . . " She tried to take a step, to prove her point, and stumbled badly. He caught her and supported her until she was steady on her feet. She nodded in thanks. "I'm grateful, but . . . Even if you got me out, you'd never be able to protect me." And I can't protect myself, she thought bitterly. "No, I'm better off here."_

_"I'll protect you! Trust me! You'll be fine!" As her head began to clear, she finally understood that he was offering to help her, regardless of the fact that she would only be a burden. Reluctantly, she nodded._

_"Let's go!" He let her lean on his arm for support until her legs started working again. As they were about to leave the town behind, she stopped him. "Why are you helping me?" she asked._

_He hesitated for a moment. "You remind me of someone . . . But what's it matter, anyway? I just want to, okay?!"_

_Later, in Narshe, when Cyan wanted to kill her for what she'd done in Maranda--and Celes knew she deserved every bit of his hatred and anger--Locke intervened again. "I promised I'd protect her!" he told Cyan fiercely. "I WILL NOT back out on my word!"_

Locke....he was always there to help her....no matter what she had done. He never cared about the terrible things she'd done as an Imperial General. His love for her was that strong....

Celes's attention drifted back to the real world. The High Priestess was reciting the words of the funeral ceremony. Celes stared at the casket, feeling tears sting her eyes. _Locke!_ The mental scream echoed around her. She couldn't stop the tears that were sliding down her face. Suddenly the world went gray. She couldn't see. Oh, God, the dizziness....She swayed, unable to stay on her feet. Someone put an arm around her shoulders....Cyan, it was Cyan....She wanted to tell him not to bother, that she didn't need his help. Blackness swirled up to meet her as she fell.


	5. Like Night Into Day

"Celes!" Cyan caught her as she folded to the ground. He gently laid her on the cool grass, bending over her with concern. Sabin was there too, looking worried as he towered over the Doman warrior and the former Imperial general.

"She's fainted," Terra said softly, kneeling next to her friend and laying a hand on Celes' forehead. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"She insisted," Edgar reminded her, his tone not unsympathetic.

"I know." Terra sighed. "I think we'd best take her somewhere else. She shouldn't stay here. It'll be too hard on her. There are too many memories here....It would be cruel."

Cyan nodded. He knew all about memories. "But where can we take her? There are memories for her in so many places."

"She didn't go with us to Doma," Sabin offered helplessly. "It's probably the only place she didn't go while we fought Kefka."

Cyan nodded. "I would be happy to have her in Doma. She won't have as many memories there....and perhaps I could help her." It was odd, really....the first time he had seen Celes, he'd wanted to kill her for what she had done to the helpless folk in Maranda, and for what the Empire had done to Doma. But as their struggle against Kefka wore on, he had finally seen her for what she was: a woman of integrity and strength, never afraid to fight for what she believed in or for the people she loved. _Did Locke cause that change in her, or was she that way all along, under the Imperial training?_ he wondered.

Terra studied him for a moment, then nodded. "I think perhaps that would be best, Cyan," she agreed. "Sabin, will you help me carry her to the airship?"

"Help?" Sabin looked like he would have laughed if it hadn't been such a sad occasion. "I'll do all the carrying, Terra." He picked Celes up and looked at the casket. A suspicious brightness gathered in his eyes before he turned away.

Terra started to lead the way back to the airship, seemingly unaware of the tears that glittered in her own eyes. Cyan had to blink back a few tears of his own. No matter that he had often disagreed with the irreverent young treasure hunter. Locke had guarded Cyan's back more times than the Doman cared to count, and had proven a trustworthy comrade.

Sabin carried Celes into the airship and laid her on the couch. Her eyelids fluttered open, showing the sapphire eyes that were now dark with sorrow and pain. Terra knelt by the couch. Celes looked around her. "This isn't Kohlingen," she said in a voice hoarse and uneven with unshed tears.

"No. We're going to Doma for a while," Terra said, trying to make her voice cheerful and brisk. Cyan stared at her. The tears running down the Esper girl's face thoroughly impaired her efforts to put on a brave front.

"I...." Confusion swirled through her eyes. "I want to stay in Kohlingen. I have to be here when Locke comes back."

Cyan winced and traded looks with Sabin. The burly martial artist shrugged helplessly. "Celes, thou art tired and confused," Cyan began. "After a good night's sleep, things will seem much....clearer." It was the best he could come up with.

Sabin offered him a mildly appalled look for his trite babble. Celes turned her face to the wall. Looking helpless, Terra rose and stepped away from their friend. Cyan seated himself at a blackjack table and waited out the flight, hoping the abominable mechanical thing wouldn't crash.

~*~

Rebuilding a castle was bloody hard work, but at the very least it exhausted her. Celes heaved another granite block onto the parapet of the East Tower and swore when one of her short nails broke. Blood trickled down her finger. She ignored it. Compared to the pain in her heart, that was less than nothing.

More mortar. Another stone. She forced herself to focus on the monotonous task, aligning the edges of the stones with obsessive precision. Everything was in the details. If she occupied her mind with inconsequential matters like placing stones in as near-perfect alignment as she could, she didn't have to think about Locke.

Blood dripped onto the stone she was setting. She wiped the stone with a rag and dragged her hand across her black work pants to blot the crimson rivulets. Rock dust grated on the wound. She ignored it and went back to spreading mortar with the care of a master baker icing a cake.

"Ooooh! You hurt!" Slender tanned fingers wrapped around her wrist.

"Not now, Gau." Cyan had done a marvelous job teaching the wild boy proper speech, but he often forgot to employ what he'd learned when he was upset or concerned.

"Celes? 'Tis nearly sunset."

She gritted her teeth and ignored Cyan. The physical effort of rebuilding hadn't drained her enough. She wouldn't stop until it did. "I'm not done."

"Thou art bleeding." Cyan turned her hand palm up to inspect the damage. His lean swordsman's fingers were stronger than Gau's, and she couldn't break his grip. Cyan narrowed his eyes at the gash across her index finger. "'Tis time to go in, Celes," he said quietly.

She couldn't go in now. She'd be up all night weeping. The pain of memories was worse by far than the ache of strained muscles and torn skin. "I'm fine."

Cyan sighed and bowed his head. "Celes....thou cannot heal if thou wilt not face what hurts thee. I know."

Celes leapt on his words like a starving alley cat on a plate of scraps. It was all the opening she needed to press the argument they'd been having for two months. "Then let me go back to Kohlingen."

He sighed again, sorrow deepening the lines in his face. But he hadn't told her no. She pressed her advantage. "I'm no use to you, Cyan. You've got master builders here who can do this--" She waved her trowel at the half-built parapet--"much better than I. And it's not as though Doma needs another warrior."

The expression that crossed his face was unlike any she had ever seen him wear. With a mild shock, she realized it was one of defeat. "One of Setzer's Airship Runners is here with messages from Figaro," he said, referring to the courier service the gambler had created after Kefka's fall. "I shall prevail upon him to take thee back with him."

"Thank you." She set down the trowel and wiped stone dust and blood from her injured hands on her pants. "I'd better pack."

Cyan muttered something under his breath and followed her down the stairs.

~*~

She barely heard the click of the latch as the door swung shut behind her. The cottage looked no different. She wondered why she'd expected it to.

_Because he's not here._ The answer hovered in her mind. It was true. Everything about the cottage was the same, except for the terrible echoing loneliness that surrounded her.

The dying rays of the setting sun framed everything in a blood-red glow. She dropped her bag in the front hall and walked unsteadily toward the bedroom.

Three pairs of stout boots littered the floor--one pair was hers, the other two his. A pearl choker trailed out of the jewel box on the dresser. She picked up the necklace, running her fingertips over the smooth gems. A gold-and-ruby pendant of a phoenix hung from the center of it. She had to exert the strongest self-control to keep her hands from clenching on the jewelry and breaking the fragile silk cords on which the pearls were strung. Carefully she placed it back in the jewel box and turned to the bed with slow, reluctant steps.

Her blue robe lay casually tossed across the rumpled covers. A battered leather jacket and swordbelt with two dirks also adorned the bed. But the object that drew her attention was the dark blue silk bandanna that hung half off the bed, on the verge of slipping to the floor.

Until now, she had been able to keep the realization of his death at a distance because she hadn't really thought about him being gone. The pain of knowing it, intellectually, was crippling enough. She had shied away from truly believing it in her heart. But that bandanna, the same one she had found wrapped around a pigeon on the Solitary Island almost two years ago....Now, it was real.

She didn't remember sinking to the floor, or starting to cry. Huge, racking sobs shook her slender frame. She clenched her hands into fists and pressed them against her stomach, trying to hold in the tears, and failed. Hours passed and she didn't realize it. There was only her grief, beating relentlessly against her defenses until everything crumbled.

When the tears finally faded, nausea set in. She couldn't stop shaking and she was sure she was going to be sick. The room spun dizzily around her and she slowly, cautiously lay down and curled on her side. The wood floor was cool against her hot face. Gradually the room stopped revolving.

Exhausted from the emotional storm, she fell asleep.

A sound or maybe a shifting shadow woke her. She blinked slowly and sat up. The first pale rose streaks of dawn had appeared in the eastern sky. Her whole body ached, a combination of her exertions yesterday and her nap on a hard wooden floor.

She had run here to wall herself off in memories, using them as a shield against her loss. Now she remembered what Cyan had said to her before she left. _"Thou cannot heal if thou wilt not face what hurts thee."_ "You're right, Cyan," she said softly aloud. "You were right."

A floorboard in the hall creaked. She spun toward the door, immediately tense and alert. A sound like a shoe being dragged along the floor was followed by a heavy footstep and another creaking board. Edging into the shadows, she looked out into the hallway, braced to defend herself.

A man of perhaps average height, dressed in ragged black trousers and a battered black jacket, stood with his right hand braced on the hall table, his head bowed. He wore a black hat and appeared to be favouring his left leg. She coldly noted that he held his ribs with his left hand. These were weaknesses she could use against him in a fight.

She gripped the hilt of her sword and took a deep breath, then stepped into the hall. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?"

Slowly he looked up, gray eyes meeting hers. "Celes?"

She stared in silence, unable to believe the sight in front of her. A thick scar ran the length of his jaw, stopping just under his ear. His nose was crooked, as though it had been broken and healed badly. And if she was any judge of injuries, his left knee was probably damaged beyond repair.

But it was him.

She dropped her sword and ran to him, flinging her arms around his neck and holding tight. He carefully wrapped his left arm around her and squeezed. "Locke....you came back."


	6. It's Just A Fading Dream

"I had to." He spoke more hoarsely than he used to. "You were here."

The simple statement nearly brought her to tears again. She swallowed hard. "You're hurt."

"Not as badly as I was a while ago. But....could we sit down? It's hard to stand for a long time." She felt his muscles ripple under her cheek and remembered how he hated admitting weakness--much like her.

Slowly they made their way into the bedroom, he leaning on her for support. She swept the jumbled articles of clothing off the bed and knelt to help him take off the heavy, clumsy boots he wore.

"You don't have to--"

"Let me." She rested her cheek against his uninjured knee for a moment before she rose, kicking off her own boots, and curled up on the bed next to him. With her head on his shoulder, she could hear his heart beating. Tears welled up again, and she couldn't stop a few from trickling under her lashes.

Gentle fingertips brushed over her cheek, taking the salty drops with them. "Don't cry, Celes."

"I thought...." She swallowed hard past the lump in her throat. "I thought you were dead."

"So did I, for a while." He fell silent, one hand stroking her hair gently.

"Could you tell me what happened?"

He sighed. "After we fought, I went to the cave west of here, the Verridian Cave. I didn't mean to go there, I just sort of....found myself there." She felt him tense. "It's where Rachel lost her memory."

She reached up to touch his cheek, the sapphire bracelet Terra had handed over to her sliding down her wrist. "And?"

"I saw her ghost." He shook his head. "Weird, I know, but I swear she was there. I talked to her."

Celes winced. "What did she say?"

"Essentially, 'get over yourself and me.' She told me to come back here to you."

"She did?"

He shrugged. She resettled herself so she could hear his heartbeat. It was important to her that she feel him next to her, know that he was really here.

"I found something there I'd been looking for a long time. A legendary treasure. As I picked it up and started to leave, I started looking through my belt pouch for the sapphire bracelet I'd bought for you. It was gone, and I was so busy looking for it I forgot to pay attention to the cave. I must have disturbed the wrong part of the rocks. The whole cave ceiling tumbled down around me, and I blacked out."

Celes raised her arm so the rising sun glinted through the pure blue stones. "Terra found it and gave it to me."

"It looks perfect on you." He kissed her fingertips and lay still for a few minutes, seeming to gather himself to keep telling the tale. "When I woke up, someone very...strange was taking care of me. He didn't speak much, just tended my wounds and told me he had a certain power over the earth that had kept me from being killed in the cave. He said Rachel had asked him to take care of me and that another man had been in the cave, but he died." Locke shook his head. "I had wondered if I was being followed. I guess the other guy stole the bracelet."

"Imagine that," Celes teased.

"Hush, wench." He kissed her forehead softly. "Do you want to hear this or not?"

"I do." She curled closer, careful of his injured ribs.

"As soon as I could walk again, I gave the guy who'd been taking care of me�"I never even learned his name�"all the GP I had in my belt pouch, and came back here. One of my friends put me up until I finished healing. He said the others had taken you to Doma and so I waited for you to come back."

"Locke....I'm sorry. The things I said...."

He hugged her tight. "It doesn't matter. I'm sorry, too."

She smiled softly and reached up to touch his face. "It doesn't matter."

Once, she would have despised herself for being so weak and defenseless around him. But that woman had died in a South Figaro prison, leaving a new person to follow an irrepressible treasure hunter into a life more fraught with danger than any Imperial battlefield.

After a long silence, he stirred. "There is one more thing."

"Hmmm?" She blinked, dragging herself out of a half-doze.

He carefully reached into his belt pouch and pulled out something that glittered blue and green in the sunlight. She gasped, reaching out to brush her fingertips across the delicate rose of sapphire and emerald.

"It's the Sapphire Rose, an ancient treasure," he said, turning it so the sun brought out its full beauty. Then he laid it in her palm. "For you."

"Locke, no...."

"Be quiet. I've got something I want to say." He shifted and sat up, dislodging her head from its extremely comfortable resting place on his shoulder. She sat up slowly and turned to face him.

He grasped both her hands and his and looked into her eyes. "I love you. And I want you to marry me."

She looked down at the priceless gem glittering in her hands, then raised her eyes to the face of someone more precious to her than any handful of minerals, no matter how rare. "I love you. And yes."

He flashed her his old devil-may-care grin and kissed her thoroughly.

Much, much later she blinked sleepily, running her fingertips lightly across his bare shoulders. "Locke?"

"Hmmm?"

"We'll have to tell the others that you're still alive."

"Hmmm." He groaned. "Not for a few more days. I want you all to myself for a while. It seemed like forever when...." His voice trailed off.

She kissed him. "Not for a few more days," she agreed.

They lay together and watched the sunlight move across the floor of their room. Celes softly hummed the aria she had sung while posing as Maria. Locke smiled down at her, understanding perfectly the sentiment she wanted to express. And for once, treasure hunter and Imperial general were in perfect accord.

Of course, that would change the next time he criticized her cooking or she complained about the treasures he left scattered all over the house....but for now, it was enough. The last two months seemed like only a dark nightmare that was fading in the light of day.


End file.
